In the past, printing cylinders have been prepared by depositing a layer of metal, such as copper, on the surface of a metal cylinder, then filing or grinding or otherwise treating the cylinder to obtain a uniform diameter and to place the cylinder into the proper condition for subsequent etching operations or the like, for printing operations therewith.
The preparation of such cylinders has been time consuming, especially with respect to treating the cylinders after plating, and even with careful work, the results obtained have not always been satisfactory.